Collecting bags for receiving and controlling human body wastes are well known and have been provided in numerous shapes, sizes and constructions for many years. Also, collecting bags being provided with a comfort layer to increase user comfort have been provided. Some examples are found in patent publications EP1389081 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,180.
In most available collecting bag products in the field of ostomy care, i.e. for bags being part of an ostomy device, such a comfort layer comprises a non-woven material typically made from polyethylene, polypropylene or polyester fibres. The non-woven material is typically heat laminated onto the barrier material of the collecting bag or attached by a welding process. The welding process causes the fibre structure of the non-woven material to melt, and experience shows that this results in a relatively hard or non-flexible welding zone. The resulting attachment or connection between the non-woven and the barrier film layer is relatively strong, i.e. the strength required to peel the two layers apart in a peel strength test is relatively high, but in some cases the materials break instead of being peeled apart, if submitted to such a test. However, the strength of the individual non-woven fibres is compromised or greatly reduced in the melted areas of the material thereby leaving those areas more exposed to failure caused by external forces working on the collecting bag, such as tearing or pulling forces. Indeed, the fact that the welding zone is relatively hard leaves the welding zone area exposed and much more sensitive to notches being created. In the worst case, such a failure may result in the collecting bag being torn up and open and consequently leaking its contents. Furthermore, the process of welding the non-woven onto the barrier material leaves the zone or area of the welding quite visible because all material in the welding zone is mixed and results in a relatively uniform surface after cooling, thus compromising the visual appearance of the collecting bag.
Thus, there is a need for an improved collecting bag that overcomes the above mentioned disadvantages and provides an increased security against failure caused by external forces.